By AURA E-MAGAZINE, Nov 16 2017 10:33PM

Ruma Paul, Reuters

Photo: Mario Anzuoni, Reuters/File

DHAKA- Filmstar Angelina Jolie has condemned sexual violence inflicted on Rohingya women in Myanmar's Rakhine State, where a military counter-insurgency operation has sent hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees across the border to Bangladesh.

More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar since late August, driven out by the military's actions that a top United Nations official has described as a classic case of "ethnic cleansing".

Jolie, a special envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told a Bangladesh delegation in the Canadian city of Vancouver that she planned to visit the Rohingya victims of sexual violence.

"Later she mentioned accordingly in her keynote speech about the sexual violence faced by almost each female Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh and condemned the armed conflict in Myanmar," Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

It gave no details of Jolie's proposed trip.

On Thursday, New York-based Human Rights Watch accused Myanmar security forces of committing widespread rape against women and girls as part of a campaign of ethnic cleansing.

The allegation echoes an accusation this week by Pramila Patten, the U.N. special envoy on sexual violence in conflict, who said sexual violence was "being commanded, orchestrated and perpetrated by the Armed Forces of Myanmar."

Myanmar’s army released a report on Monday denying all allegations of rape and killings by security forces, days after replacing the general in charge of the operation.

In parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh would overcome obstacles to resolve the Rohingya crisis, with the help of the international community.

"I strongly believe we will find a peaceful solution to the unprecedented crisis with the help of the international community, despite various obstacles," she said.

There were already about 300,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh before the most recent exodus.

By AURA E-MAGAZINE, Nov 16 2017 10:13PM

Horror film fans are in for a treat as one of ABS-CBN’s premier artists, Kim Chiu, stars in Star Cinema’s spine-chilling horror-mystery movie of the season “The Ghost Bride”, screening outside the Philippines via TFC@theMovies this November.

Reuniting with the master filmmaker Chito S. Roño, this is the third time Chiu is going under the helm of Roño after “The Healing” in 2012 and “Etiquette for the Mistresses” in 2015.

“The Ghost Bride”, explores a very different kind of wedding practice of ghost weddings, that is rooted in ancient Chinese culture and tradition.

“Arranged marriage is common sa mga kapatid nating Chinese, but there is darker side of the tradition”, explained Roño. “There are women who are arranged to be married with dead people, which is being discouraged not only by the government but also by the women themselves”.

The movie is centered on the life of Mayen (Chiu) – a girl who will gamble her life to a secret Chinese tradition, upon the advice of the mysterious matchmaker Madame Angie Lao (Alice Dixson), to help her family.

Mayen will enter a bizarre and unfamiliar world where she will have to marry the dead for others to live.

“The Ghost Bride” exposes a myriad of strange practices, both ancient and modern, that continues to affect certain groups of the Filipino-Chinese community, specifically in Manila’s fabled Chinatown district of Binondo.

The film may fall under the horror genre, but Chiu believes it goes beyond that. “Hindi naman siya as in super takutan lang, kasi nando’n ‘yong truth, e, nando’n ‘yong tradition, ‘yong curse, ‘yong kapalit ng ginawa mo (It is not just about scaring people. It also shows truth, tradition, and reminds us that everything we do have consequences.),” she explains.

As Mayen goes deeper into the underworld of ghost weddings, she will uncover shocking truths that will put her life in mortal danger. Will Mayen survive the horrors that she will unwittingly unleash in being the dreaded ghost bride?

Find out what happens to “The Ghost Bride” as it screens outside the Philippines via TFC@theMovies on the following dates: Middle East on November 16; U.S. and Canada on November 17; Hong Kong on November 19, and soon in other countries.

By AURA E-MAGAZINE, Mar 11 2017 12:47AM

Teen housemate’s winning moment and other highlights of the ‘Big Night’ will be available until April via TFC online (TFC.tv) in key countries worldwide.

Teen housemate Maymay Entrata emerged as the Lucky Big Winner of “Pinoy Big Brother Lucky Season 7” and made “PBB” history as the first Big Winner in the longest season of the hit ABS-CBN reality show, beating co-housemates from celebrity, teen, and adult editions in the ‘Big Night’ that aired live via

The Filipino Channel (TFC) in the Middle East and Asia Pacific and streamed simulcast its ABS-CBN airing on TFC.tv in key countries worldwide.

The “Ms. Wacky-Go-Lucky of CDO” garnered a total of 42.71% of votes and was welcomed formally by her family, friends, and fans to the outside world in the jam packed Big Night held last March 5 at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna (Luzon, Philippines).

In an emotional speech, Entrata thanked all her fans for helping her reach her dream, and encouraged everyone to continue reaching for their own dreams.

“Don’t be afraid to dream. Don’t ever forget where you came from and the people who helped you in your journey. If your dreams are already within reach and you stumble along the way, you just have to get back on your feet and rise from it. Remember why you started and why you made it that far to reaching your dream,” she said.

“Don’t be afraid to be true to yourself and to others because it is the key to your dreams and success in life,” Entrata added.

As the Lucky Big Winner, Entrata won Php 1 million, a house and lot, and an Asian tour package for two from clothing company.

On the other hand, fellow Big 4 housemates Kisses Delavin finished as the second Lucky Big Placer with 31.27% of votes and took home Php 500,000; Yong Muhajil as 3rd Big Placer with 21. 52% of votes and won Php 300,000; and Edward Barber as the fourth Lucky Big Placer with 4.49% of votes and got Php 200,000.

Meantime, on March 4, the night before the worldwide Twitter trending Big Night the 5th, 6th, and 7th Lucky Big Placer awards were already given to Tanner Mata, 2-in-1 “Hashtags” housemates Mccoy De Leon and Nikko Natividad, and Cora Waddell, respectively. Each of them received Php 100,000.

For the past 11 years, “Pinoy Big Brother” has remained one of the most watched programs in the country, and a consistent top trending topic in social media.

In fact, the Big Night ruled national TV ratings and won their respective timeslots. According to the data from Kantar Media / TNS, a local audience viewership measurement company, the show scored 19.9% against rival’s 10% for March 4, and hit 20.6% against rival’s 18.8% for March 5. Its final week is also in the Top 20 most watched programs on TFC online (TFC.tv)

For eleven years now, “Pinoy Big Brother” has mirrored the hopes, plight, and aspirations of Filipinos through its diverse mix of housemates. The tasks and challenges that Big Brother formulates for the housemates aim to bring out the best in them, test their strengths, and foster camaraderie as they undergo a transformative journey inside the house.

By AURA E-MAGAZINE, Jan 29 2017 10:18PM

Filipinos in and outside the Philippines continue to tune in to “Your Face Sounds Familiar: Kids,” as the program’s cute performers impersonate more and more local and international music icons.

Based on data from Kantar Media / TNS, a local television viewership measurement company, the program led the list of the most watched programs in the country on the weekend when it premiered (January 7 and 8). “Your Face Sounds Familiar’s” first episode on Saturday recorded a Philippine TV rating of 31.4%, while it drew more viewers on Sunday with 33.2%. To date, it continues to rule the Saturday and Sunday Philippine evenings at 35.4 and 37% respectively.

Breakout Child Star Awra Briguela was named the edition’s first weekly winner, winning 24 points, for his spot-on impersonation of Dionisia Pacquiao. He impressed not only the jurors Sharon Cuneta, Gary Valenciano, and Ogie Alcasid, but also the online world. The video of his performance has now reached over 5,578,726 million views to date and was marked by YouTube as “#1 on Trending” in the list of most-talked about videos in the Philippines at launch.

During the second week, the kid performers faced another set of challenges: Briguela as Daniel Padilla, Bonifacio as Sandara Park, Nympha as Sharon Cuneta, Shoaf as Alicia Keys, Muhlach as Rico J. Puno, Alva as Adam Levine, Gairanod as Lady Gaga, and Vigor as Taylor Swift.

While Nympha won for her seamless portrayal of the Megastar, Vigor‘s impersonation made waves across the globe and has gotten the attention of various foreign news outlets, including Huffington Post, and the online sites of TIME and Billboard magazines.

People magazine called the impersonation “spot on,” while British tabloid The Daily Mail described her performance as “extraordinary” and “pitch-perfect.” Teen Vogue also noted Vigor’s “incredible display of showmanship,” while MTV said Taylor herself would be proud of Vigor’s performance of her hit “Your Belong With Me.” The performance was also featured in sites such as Mashable, Refinery 29, Cosmopolitan, JustJared, and caught the attention of celebrity blogger Perez Hilton.

Vigor’s video has so far garnered 8,490,590 million videos, and became top trending video at YouTube Philippines.

Last week, she scored another win as she portrayed Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses. The other kid performers also impressed with Gairanod as Jessa Zaragoza, Alva as Francis Magalona, Muhlach as Justin Bieber, Shoaf as Elvis Presley, Nympha as Meghan Trainor, Bonifacio as Jessie J, and Briguela as Rihanna.

Briguela, Nympha and Vigor all won Php 50,000 each and an additional Php 50,000 were given to their chosen charities Harvesters’ Foundation Inc., Mary Child Foundation at Lingap Pangakabataan Inc.

Others have a chance to improve their rankings because no one will be eliminated and their scores will be tallied each week.

By AURA E-MAGAZINE, Jan 19 2017 07:52PM

How will the story of Nadine Lustre and James Reid’s characters Iris and Basti end? Will the love that was promised to last forever come to an unexpected end?

This is the question that the fans of the ABS-CBN series “Till I Met You,” popularly known as #TIMYllennials, are dying to know as the series, which stars the celebrated love team of Nadine Lustre and James Reid, comes to an end, as will be seen live via streaming on TFC.tv on January 20 (9:10 Manila time).

The marriage of Iris (Lustre) and Basti (Reid) starts falling apart during this last week of “Til I Met You” as Iris continues to be convinced that Basti is cheating on her. Iris asks for space after having watched a video of him kissing her mentor Madison (Loren Burgos). Little does she know that Basti is a victim of Madison’s lies and his stepmother Val’s (Angel Aquino) frame up. Val is hoping that separating Iris and Basti will give him and his dad Nestor (Zoren Legaspi) reason to return to Greece.

In spite of Val and Madison’s lies, Basti remains steadfast in pursuing Iris to regain her trust.

Since the series started airing on television, the love story of Iris and Basti has captured viewers’ hearts in the Philippines via ABS-CBN Channel 2 and outside the homeland via TFC. The program continues to make its mark as one of the Top 5 most viewed shows on TFC.tv and TFC IPTV since its launch in August 2015. The show has realistically portrayed the lives of young married couples and has become an eye-opener on television for same-sex relationships via the characters of Ali (JC Santos) and Stephen’s (Enzo Pineda).

Adding to its unique story are the unforgettable scenes shot in the breathtaking and historical tourist spots in Greece.

Geared towards the millennials, the series has been a constant trending topic online and has garnered millions of posts on Twitter.

Meantime, the show’s leading lady, Nadine, was recently hailed as the Most Beautiful Woman in the Philippines 2016 by the entertainment site Starmometer.com. Nadine garnered a total of 9 million votes from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and online ballots on the site.

What kind of fate await Iris and Basti? Will Val and Madison carry on with their plans? Will love still prevail in the hearts of the couple?

Don’t miss the scenes showing that real love wins in “Till I Met You,” via TFC’s different platforms in key countries worldwide. The final episode of the show will also be streamed live in key countries worldwide via TFC.tv on January 20, 9:10 p.m. (Manila Time). Filipinos outside the homeland can also relive the most memorable moments of “Till I Met You” via TFC.tv and TFC IPTV.

For more updates about the show, visit TFC’s Facebook page applicable for your area. Connect with fellow global Kapamilyas, follow @KapamilyaTFC on Twitter and Instagram.